True Love: Nightwing Love Story
by day-dreamer 12900
Summary: Dick Grayson was done. After everything that happened with Starfire, he was done. No more relationships. No more heart break. But will all that change after he meets Shadow, one of New York's most famous heroines?
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, this is my new story for Nightwing.**

Chapter 1: Meeting

**Athena's P.O.V.**

I didn't think my life could change so much in just one day. I woke up this morning and went down to my parent's home in Brooklyn. It was pretty far from Manhattan, but I didn't mind. I stayed there for the whole day just cooking with my mom while my dad was watching a game in the living room.

"So, Athena, do you have a boyfriend?" my mom asked.

"Where did this come from?" I asked nearly cutting myself with a knife.

"Well, you live alone, you're finishing up college, you're a beautiful 21 year old, you should have a boyfriend," she said.

"Um, no," I said.

"And that's how it's going to stay," my dad said.

"Dad, just because I don't have a boyfriend now, doesn't mean I don't want one," I said.

"So you want one," he said while raising his eyebrow.

"I mean when I want one," I said.

"I don't want to see you with a guy that I don't approve of. So, I'll personally introduce you to guys I do approve of," he grunted.

"Dad! That's not fair!" I said, uh, yelled.

"You need to understand that it's dangerous where you live. I don't want anything happening because of some guy," he grumbled. I stormed out of the house. I can take care of myself. I don't need anybody to take care of me. I can handle anything that comes at me. I walked around the neighborhood. I bought a soda and sat on the rooftops just thinking about what happened. I may not want a boyfriend now, but what about later? I'm _not_ a baby anymore. I never really was. Even when I was an infant, I grew out of stuff quickly. My thoughts were interrupted by gunshots coming from down the street. I jumped down from the roof of the building (with the help of fire escapes) and ran towards the gunshots. I stopped and hid behind the corner of a building. From where I was hiding, I could see a gang bothering a middle-aged man. A few more shots were fired and the police came as the gang ran away. I walked up to the victim to get a closer look.

"Miss, are you okay?" A cop asked me. I was petrified. The victim was my father! Those gang members are going to pay.

"This-this is my father," I whispered.

"I'm so sorry Miss. Let me give you a ride home," the police officer said. I was going to get those members.

"Do you have photos of those gang members?" I asked.

"Yes, only a few," the cop said.

"Could I have them?"

"Of course."

We made it to their house and the police officer explained everything to Mom. My mom was crying her eyes out. The police officer gave me the photos before leaving. I had to stay with my mom for a week before going back to live on my own. We had the funeral and after that, Mom has done a good job in trying to forget about what happened. She's actually a lot happier, but she hasn't forgotten about Dad completely. She loves him. How could she? Me, on the other hand feels guilty. My last moments with my dad spent on fighting with him. Nothing will stop me from finding the guys who killed my dad.

**One year later**

I was jumping rooftop to rooftop all night: on patrol for any criminals. I can't believe it's been a year since I've been doing this. A year since my dad died. I shook the thought away and kept going. There was nothing today, so I just sat along the ledge of the roof and looked at the moon and thought about everything that's happened after Dad died. I became Shadow: a crime fighter in black. I basically wore the same thing as Black Widow: black skin-tight leather pants, a sleeveless black shirt, black heals, and a skin-tight leather black jacket. But I also had a black belt without a symbol on it and a whole bunch of weapons and stuff. To top it off, I had a sword made of silver that was also on my belt and I had a dagger tied around my thigh just in case. I found the gang months ago and I pounded their heads in, but I didn't have the heart to kill them. By the time, I got used to the idea of beating the villain up and handing them to the cops. I went home and had a good nights sleep. No crime tonight, and no working tomorrow. Yes!

**Next Morning**

I woke up to the sound of my phone ringing. It was on a level 8 (the loudest it could go btw) and it was _not_ on vibrate. I groaned and picked up the phone.

"Hello?" I mumbled.

"Athena! Hello honey!" my mom said, "Look, I was invited to go to a party tonight. A good friend of mine, Bruce Wayne, is throwing a party for his son. His son, Richard Grayson just moved to New York, so it's like a welcome party."

"Okay, so why does this involve me?" I asked.

"He said I could bring whomever I want, and I want to bring you."

"Mom, I don't know…"

"Please Athena. You should meet him. He's a nice young man and it's been a while since we've been to a party together as a family."

I sighed. "Alright, when's the party?"

"At 7:00 P.M., come over at 6:00 so we can get ready. Don't worry, I have a dress here for you." Did she plan this?

"Okay, bye."

"Bye hun."

I slept in for another hour before waking up at 11:00 A.M. I showered and grabbed a duffel bag. I filled it with make up, a pair of black heals, and I put in some clothes for staying over. I spent the day relaxing before leaving at 5:30 to catch the subway. By 5:50, I was at my mom's house.

"Hey, Mom," I greeted as she opened the door.

"Hello, Athena. Come in, we have a lot of work to do."

She did me first. She let me wear a long, black dress. It had thin, spaghetti straps and was sparkly. It was cut on the side so my left leg showed. The black heals I brought matched perfectly and my mom did my hair and make-up. She put a little bit black eyeliner, mascara, gray foundation, and red lipstick. I'm not one for make-up but I looked pretty good. My hair was put in an elegant bun with some hair that was out of place and in front of my ears. It looked really nice. After she changed, we left for the party. I can't believe it took an hour to get ready. We made it just in time. The party was in a mansion in Manhattan.

"Now, you remember your table manners, right dear?" my mom asked.

"Of course, mother dearest," I said sarcastically.

"Oh, come on Athena. Mr. Grayson is 22, just like you. He's also single. He had girlfriend. They were going to get married, but the wedding was called off. They broke it off completely after he moved to New York," she told me.

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Well, you are a beautiful 22 year old with tan skin, straight dark-brown hair, and blue eyes. I thought maybe you two would be _very_ good friends."

"Don't tell me my own mom is trying to set me up."

"Okay, I won't tell you."

I didn't say anything after that. I just stood there shocked. She set me up! My mom led me to the main table where a middle-aged man and a guy about my age were sitting at.

"Athena, I'd like you to meet Bruce Wayne and Richard Grayson," my mom said. I shook Bruce's hand and Richard's.

"Richard, why don't you show Athena around," Bruce said. Not him, too. Richard just nodded and took my hand.

The silence was kind of awkward, so I took the opportunity to get a better look at this guy. He had raven black hair was combed back. He looked strongly built and muscular. He had cool, blue eyes that any girl could get lost in. He was really handsome, if you ask me. And to think he was going to marry somebody.

"You can call me Dick, if you want," he said as he broke the silence.

"Oh, um okay," I said, "So this is your first time in New York?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"By any chance, does your Dad want you to specifically spend time with me tonight?"

"Well … can you clarify on that?"

"Has Bruce said anything to you about me. Like in a way to try to sell me to you?"

"Now that you mention it, yeah."

"My mom, too. I think that this is a set up, but, I don't see what's wrong with being friends."

He grinned. "Alright then, friends." We talked for the rest of the night about all kinds of things. Talking with him was so natural. He talked to me about his relationship with his old girlfriend and how it went down hill and I told him about what happened to my dad a year ago. We even exchanged numbers.

"Is it okay if I call you later?" He asked me.

"Sure, but just warning you now, I'm busy tomorrow."

"Why?"

"I work, but I get out 5:00 and my lunch break is at 1:30."

"Okay. I was actually wondering if I could take you out for lunch tomorrow."

"Yeah, that'd be great. Do you want me to give you the address of the building that I work at?"

"You can text it to me tomorrow." We stayed silent for a while until my mom walked up to us.

"Athena, it's time to go. I'm pretty sure you'll be busy tomorrow," she said.

"Okay," I said and let go of Dick's arm.

"See you tomorrow, Athena," He said.

"See you tomorrow," I whispered. I gave him a warm smile before leaving with my mom.

"So, what do you think of him," she asked.

"I think he's really sweet and funny. He's treating me to lunch tomorrow," I said.

"That's nice," she said with a smug look on her face.

"Mom, as friends. He seems like he would be a very nice _friend_, okay," I said.

We got to her house and changed into comfortable clothes. I decided to go back to my apartment instead of staying over. But of course, I went home and stayed up until 10:00 P.M. doing patrol. I could have gone later, but the party took a lot out of me. But it was worth it. Dick was really nice.

**So that was chapter one. Please rate and review. Well, mainly review. And read and review my other story, A Sweet Relationship: Robin Love Story. Happy Holidays and Happy New Year.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Happy New Year! I'm going to try and continue the Robin love story (check my archive) and I started a new story named A Weird Cinderella Story (check my archive). Too soon?**

Chapter 2: Lunch/Date and Interruptions?

**Athena's P.O.V.**

I woke up to my alarm clock beeping in my ear. My head felt dizzy. If there was another super hero that would take my night shift, I'd marry him. I have never felt so tired. I would take a break, but I wouldn't be able to live with that on my conscience and I'd definitely would not sleep that night at all. It was 7:30 in the morning and I had to get to work at 8:00. Not bad. I got dressed in my fancy working attire; the black pencil skirt, the white button down, and the black heels that got the guys turning their heads, and towards me. I grabbed an apple, my bag, and walked out the door.

The streets were busy even though people got up for work 3 hours ago. I walked into the building I was working in, Nicole Miller. I was a secretary for one of the designers. I walked into the office.

"Hey Alice," I greeted.

"Hey honey. We're working on the spring line. Guess who's helping me … " she said.

I just rolled my eyes. Me, of course.

"I was also wondering how the party went last night."

"How do you know about the party?!"

"Your mother told me. Oh, Richard Grayson is one of the most desirable bachelors out there and you're going to lunch with him!" she screeched. Alice was a enthusiastic redhead with a husband and twins that are about 5 months. She's like my second mother.

"Okay, okay, calm down. Yes, he's taking me to lunch …" I started. She started squealing. "… but, we're going as friends. He was about to get married, he didn't, and know he probably isn't looking for a new relationship. He doesn't seem like the kind of guy and I feel bad for him."

"Alright, but I know you're looking forward to lunch and that has to mean something," she said. There's no arguing with that.

"Okay, okay, he's funny, sweet, and good looking," I admitted. She gave me a face.

"Very good looking," I added. Another face.

"Alice."

"Well, take the chance. You never know. Besides, you two would make a cute couple. In fact, if you come late, I'll cover you. I'll just tell them that I asked you to pick up or mail something or whatever."

"Oh, thank you, Alice," I said and gave her a hug. After that long conversation, we got working and in no time, 1:15 came. 15 minutes until my lunch break. Then my phone buzzed. It was a text from Dick.

**Txt convo.**

_Dick: Hi love_

_Athena: Hey_

_Dick: I'm coming to pick you up. What's the address?_

_Athena: 780 Madison Ave_

_Dick: Okay, see ya love_

_Athena: Okay, see u :)_

**End of Txt convo.**

I sighed. He called me love.

"Let me see what he texted you," Alice said grabbing my phone. "Oh, he called you love!"

"I know! He's coming in 15 minutes to pick me up," I said. I grabbed my purse and was about to walk out the door.

"Athena! Wait, wait, wait!" Alice ran up to me. "Let me do your make up and wait for Lauren to call from the lobby about Richard." I nodded and took a deep breath. Why was I so nervous? This wasn't like me at all. And Alice could see it too. She kept giving me a look all day.

"He's here, Athena, go ahead," she said.

I walked out of the office and went down to the lobby. I smiled as I saw Dick sitting in a chair waiting for me. His face lit up as soon as he noticed me.

"Hi," I said.

"Hey," he replied and engulfed me in a hug. He grabbed my hand and led me outside. We stopped in front of a black Porsche Cayman 2013.

"Wow," I said.

"Impressive, isn't it," he whispered in my ear, sending shivers down my spine. I just nodded. Dick opened the door for me then ran to driver's side after I got in.

We went to one of the most expensive restaurants in Manhattan, Batali's Del Posto. It was beautiful inside. We got in with ease and we were led our table. I looked down at what I was wearing. Not so appropriate for this.

"What's wrong?"

I looked up to find Dick staring at me with concerned eyes. "I just feel underdressed. You should have warned me," I said. I heard him chuckled.

"It's fine. Besides, you'd look beautiful in whatever you wear," he said. I noticed his cheeks had a tint of pink in them. Aww, he was blushing. Then a super thin waitress that looked like she had plastic surgery came to our table. Of course.

"May I take your order," the waitress purred to Dick.

"Sure, I'll have the Sardinian Lamb," he replied with a smirk. The waitress tried to give him a seductive smile while taking his menu. Yeah, tried, but instead looked kind of creepy. Then she turned to me.

"And what do you want?" she hissed. Okay, I should have expected that, but still, rude.

"I'll have the Wild Striped Bass," I said.

"If I were you, I'd stick with a glass of water and salad," she murmured. I was so tempted to take my knife and slice those fake lips off her face. But I let the comment slide. I mean, how could I be fat if I do lots of training to be Shadow. I just gave her a glare while she smirked at me. I felt Dick grab my hand under the table.

"Alright, I'll be right back with your orders," she said walking away, putting way too much sway on the hips.

"Glad she's gone," I mumbled. Dick chuckled. Hey! There was nothing funny about what she said.

"Yeah, but the good thing is that I get a discount after all this," he said.

"I didn't think you'd do something like that," I said.

"Well, I usually don't but after that insult I think it'd be worth it," he said and brought my hand up to his lips and gave it a gentle kiss. I was blushing. I pulled my hand away after he put it down. Charming, but what was he playing at? He had a girlfriend. They stopped dating, probably at most a week ago. Was I just something he could play with to forget about her? My thoughts were interrupted by a loud crash. It sounded like glass breaking. I looked out the window to find a building with a giant hole in it. But I couldn't see what caused it.

"Athena! Look out-" I was grabbed and pushed away from the window. A man in some robot suit broke through the glass window.

"I am Deathstroke and I'm looking for Nightwing. Where is he?" metal mouth asked.

"Stay behind me, Athena," Dick whispered. Metal mouth stepped forward and everybody backed away and I felt Dick leave, which gave me the perfect opportunity to go and change into my Shadow costume. I learned to change quickly. In seconds, I was out and ready to take on Mr. Metal Head. I jumped down from the ceiling in front of him.

"You must be a local hero. And a pretty one at that. Too bad I have to waste you, especially if you're protecting Nightwing," he said.

I wanted to respond, but I didn't because I had no idea who this Nightwing guy was and I didn't want to say anything that could make things worse. I just gave him a death glare.

Then out of nowhere, this guy in black jumps down kicks Deathstroke off the building. Then he jumped down after him. I followed after. I saw those two fighting already. Deathstroke had a bunch of weapons. But without them …

Deathstroke threw Nightwing at a building. Okay now's my chance. I ran up to him with my sword. He blocked me but a nice sword fight was all I needed to swipe some weapons.

"So this little hero wants to play," he said.

"If you don't mind," I said with a smirk. We started sword fighting. I pushed him into a building, he pushed me, it was never ending, until Nightwing decided to ruin it. I grabbed the sword out of Deathstroke's hand as Nightwing kicked him into car.

"No sword, no problem," Deathstroke said. He went to grab a gun, but couldn't find it. "What is this?!" I ran up to him and punched him. He pushed me off and it was then Nightwing's turn. He was luckier than me and was able to knock him out. Then he walks up to me.

"By any chance, do you know where all his weapons went?" he asked. To answer his question, I pulled out all his weapons that were inside the pockets of my belt and dumped them out on the floor. "Oh," he said.

"Yeah, but something tells me he made it easy for us," I said. He nodded. In minutes, cops started coming and news reporters started swarming us. They especially kept asking Nightwing questions.

"Shadow, is Nightwing a friend of yours?"

"Shadow, do you think Nightwing does a better job at being a super hero than you?"

"Do you think Nightwing will steal your spotlight as New York's super hero?"

I walked past all those reporters who only intended on spreading gossip. I walked up to Nightwing to pull him away from the mobs of people and reporters. I grabbed on to him and we disappeared to the roof of a nearby building.

"Is it always crazy like that?" He asked.

"Yeah, but only during the day," I replied, "You should come at night. Same thing, only it's just dark alleys, cops, and no reporters. That is, if you could stay awake long enough or have the time to catch up on sleep."

"I'll have it under consideration," he said. Then there was a silence. Not awkward, but comforting. "Actually, I'll take you up on that offer tonight. Meet you here at 10:00 and we could patrol together." That would be nice. Perfect, actually. It's been a long time since I've got a good night's sleep.

"Yeah, I'd like that," I said. We shook hands before going our own ways. I ran down to the women's bathroom to change. Well, nobody was there and it's not like I need to rush. Besides, if Dick finds me, at least it'd be walking out of the bathroom. I took a few minutes to change back. I walked out and felt hands grab onto my shoulders.

"Athena, thank god you're okay!" Dick engulfed me in a bear hug. I hugged him back. I felt so guilty. This whole time I wasn't worried about him but he was completely worried about him. I don't know why but I had a feeling that he wasn't in any danger so I didn't worry. We pulled away from the hug.

"I'll take you back to your job. You must be really late," he whispered in my ear. I felt shivers again. I nodded. During the drive I got a text from Alice.

_Alice: Don't come to the building. Everybody went home because the accident caused some damage to the building._

"Dick, um, you can actually take me home. Nobody's in the building," I said. He nodded and I directed him to my apartment building.

"Bye," I said.

"Bye, love. Maybe I could take you out again, but without any interruptions," he said. I walked into building and made myself dinner, followed by a nice nap before patrol.

**At 10:00 P.M.**

I ran across the rooftops to meet up with Nightwing. I went to the building that we said we'd meet on. He was already there.

"You're late," he said.

"Well aren't we punctual"

"I'm just saying," he murmured. I just sighed.

"So are we each going to do half of the city?" I asked.

"Well, I don't really know my way around," he said. I sighed again. Right, so tonight won't be any different than any other night.

"Come on, I'll show you around as much as I can." We jumped from building to building.

"So how were you able to take all those weapons from Deathstroke so quickly?" he asked.

"It's complicated."

"How complicated?"

"Let's just say I've gotten a lot of practice," I said. End of conversation. For once that night, there was no crime, so I made it home at 10:45 p.m. It doesn't take that long to do the whole city. It's the crime that makes it take longer. Nightwing and I agreed to meet up every night to patrol together. He's a pretty good fighter, but tomorrow, I'm getting him back for asking me so many personal questions. I might as well tell him my secret identity … not!

**Hey guys. Sorry it took so long. School and homework and everything. Rate and Review, but mainly Review and I'll try to keep writing.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey, guys, so here is Chapter 3 and well, do I have to make an excuse as to why I didn't update soon enough? Whatever. Just wanted to let you know that I deleted Weird Cinderella story. If you want it back, just review and I'll decide whether or not to put it back on.**

Chapter 3: Secret Identity?!

**Athena's P.O.V.**

It's been two weeks since Dick has moved here. Same thing with Nightwing and in two days, we've become really good friends. But the weird thing is how similar their personalities are. They're both funny, caring, and protective. Don't get me started on how protective they can be.

Today was a Saturday, which means morning patrol. I slipped into my Shadow suit and jumped out the window and ran across the rooftops until I found Nightwing.

"Hey," I greeted.

"Hi," he grinned. We started our patrol on the rooftops of the buildings. Then out of nowhere we heard a scream. I followed it until we made it to a dark alley. Even in the morning? There was some guy trying to mug a lady.

"Hey, don't you know that steeling is wrong," I said as I jumped in front of robber.

He just smirked at me. "No, but I was wondering if you could teach me," he said with a wink. Ew. That is disgusting. Nightwing jumped down on him and pinned him to the ground with his foot.

"Come on, let's go," I said as I helped the lady escape. Then I heard a grunt. I turned around to see that Nightwing was pushed off.

The mugger pulled out a knife. "Okay, just let me escape and nobody gets hurt."

"I'm sorry, but somebody's going to get hurt and that somebody is going to be you," I said. He clenched his jaw. Nightwing kicked the knife out of his hand and pushed him against a building.

"How about you stand still and nobody gets hurt," he growled. Whoa, I've never seen him this mad.

In a matter of minutes, the cops came and arrested the guy and we went back to patrolling.

"Nightwing," I said gently, "What happened back there with the mugger?"

"Nothing," he snapped. What's up with him? I only asked a simple question. His expression softened when he saw my reaction.

"Sorry, it's just … I didn't like how that guy was flirting with you."

"I know. It completely disgusted me."

"No, it's not just that, I just don't want you to get hurt in any way …" See over protective.

I smiled. "Aww, you worry too much." He chuckled.

"I guess …" It looked like he was thinking for a minute. "… why don't you take a break tonight. I do tonight alone."

"Me … a break? If anything, you need a break!" It's true.

He gave me a look. "You've been patrolling in New York longer than I have, just take tonight off. Please." He gave me a pouty face (which I can't resist).

"Okay." I sighed. We finished off and we went our separate ways.

**At my apartment**

I climbed through my bedroom window and lied on my bed. Ah, sleeping in! Rrriinngggg! Of course, the phone just has to ring.

"_Hello?"_ I say after picking up the phone.

"_Hey, Hun!"_

"_Hi, Alice, what's up?"_

"_The sky. Anyways, I'm having a party tonight to celebrate the fact that we finished the spring line."_

"_And you called me why?"_

"_Because you're invited. I'm going simple and just inviting the employees to a nightclub. Wear something nice."_

"_Hmmm, nice how?"_

"_Nice like you'd want to wow Richard."_

I blushed._ "Alice!"_

"_Calm down, girl, oh and Richard is invited, too. Bye!"_

"_Bye."_

I hung up before she could say anything else. I'll have to go shopping for this thing because I don't have a lot of party clothes. Before thinking about what to wear, I quickly text Dick.

**Txt Convers.**

_Athena: Hey Dick_

_Dick: Morning, beautiful ;)_

_Athena: Alice is having a party at a club 2night. What 2 come?_

_Dick: Can't, busy_

_Athena: Oh ok :(_

_Dick: I'm free l8r so how about we go out at noon_

_Athena: Sure_

_Dick: ok. Bye_

_Athena: Bye_

**End of Txt Convers.**

I sighed as I sat there in bed. We're not dating or anything, but we do like to hang out, _a lot_. It was 10:00 AM now so, I had time to get ready and everything. In two ours I was done.

I wore this:

I heard him honking his car horn and I ran outside.

"Hey," I said as I got into the car.

"Hey, so where do you want to go to eat?"

"Anywhere as long as it's not, too fancy."

"Okay." And he started the car.

"And nowhere expensive!"

"Aww, come on, Athena! It's not my fault that all the waitresses flirt with me whenever we go to a restaurant," he whined.

"Yeah, sure. Don't forget to say that it's also not your fault that the waitresses always seem to hiss at me," I retorted.

"Hey, it's not my fault that I'm so perfect," he teased. I just shook my head. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I felt him place his hand on my knee. "Just let me take you to a nice restaurant. If we get any trouble, we'll leave, okay."

"You promise this time?" Yes _this_ time. We go to a nice restaurant and he gives me the same speech.

"Promise." I sigh and he grins. Somebody kick me.

**At the restaurant**

We got into the restaurant with no problem and, guess what, a waitress came over to us. She was super skinny, with brown hair, brown eyes, and a fake nose. How do I know? She has a bandage over her nose. The ones that you get after getting a nose job.

"Hello, my name is Brooke and I'll be taking your orders," she said in a way-too-sweet-to-be-true voice. I'm not even going to tell you what happens, you can already guess how she treated me and how she treated Dick.

"See, everything is going great," Dick said as she walked away.

"Yeah," I said sarcastically, "Right."

"Oh, come on, enjoy. It's not everyday that I take somebody out for lunch."

I smiled. "You're right about that. You don't take somebody out for lunch everyday, you take me out for lunch everyday." He chuckled.

"Okay, okay, so I take you out for lunch everyday, but this is just making up for not going to the party."

"It's okay, just promise me your not blowing me off to hook up with one of these waitresses," I teased/purred. We both laughed. We ate and talked in peace. But it was ruined when that waitress came back. She took the dirty dishes, but before leaving, she slipped something in Dick's shirt pocket.

"Call me," she whispered in his ear. No. No. No. No. No. As soon as she left, I rushed out of the restaurant and waited at the car.

"Athena! Wait." I turned around to see Dick coming towards me.

"Look, I know I shouldn't be making a big deal about that but I just hate it when the waitresses do that."

"You're not jealous, are you?" He smirked.

"No, just tired of the treatment I get," I snapped as I got into the car.

He got in and gave me a small kiss on the cheek. I blushed. "Don't worry. I'm not interested in someone like that. Trust me." We sped off and he dropped me off at my apartment. It was 1:30 PM so that gave me time to shop and get myself ready for the party. But first …

**Txt Convers.**

_Athena: Alice, what time is the party?_

_Alice: 8:00 2night_

_Athena: ok, can you go shopping with me 4 clothes?_

_Alice: sure, when?_

_Athena: now_

_Alice: ok, b right over_

**End of Txt Convers.**

**After Shopping Trip**

It was 5:30 and Alice went home to get ready. I took a quick shower and curled my hair.

I wore this for the party:

.

It's good enough for me. I'm not one to show skin. I walked out and took my motorcycle. (My parents gave it to me for my 19th birthday.) I got to the club at exactly 8:00 PM and I saw Alice there.

"Hey Alice!"

"Hey Hun! Come on! Sit down and have a drink!" She went and ordered two beers.

"Alice, you know me, I don't drink much."

"Come on, it's a special occasion!" I just sighed and drank a little bit. So bitter! I was only able to drink half of the can while Alice and other workers drank down like 6.

"Hey, Athena," slurred Nina, a new worker. She was new in town and has never had alcohol, that is until now.

"Hey Nina, how many drinks have you had?"

"I think I had dis much!" she slurred and held up five fingers. Okay.

"Um, I'll go looking for Alice." When I did, I saw her grinding with a guy while making out with another. I snapped a picture. It'd be good to show her that maybe she should stay away from drinking if she wants to stay married.

I went to the bar and sat down. It's hard trying to relax when everyone is basically trying to get drunk.

"Hey." I turned around to find a cute guy with blonde hair and hazel eyes. "I'm Mike."

"I'm Athena," I smiled.

"So, you enjoying yourself?"

"No, not really. My best friend is sort of busy grinding with some guy so …"

"Oh, how 'bout you dance with me for a while to get your mind off of things." He grinned and held out his hand. I smiled and took it. We went to the dance floor and he got behind me and placed his hands on my hips as we danced to the fast beat.

"Well, aren't you a good dancer," he whispered into my ear. I shuddered. Something doesn't feel right. We went back to the bar for a little break.

"So, you come her often?" I asked.

"Sometimes, if I want to get away and meet beautiful girls like you." Yeah, sure. He started gulping down shot after shot. I don't know why I stayed and talked but now I know I should leave.

"Hey, Mike, I should get going," I said while getting up.

He yanked me towards him and pressed his lips to my ear. "But baby, you just got here," he slurred. I yanked my body away.

"No, really," I said and started backing away. He started coming after me and I had no choice but to run out from the back door. It was a dead end and the only way out was being blocked by Mike.

He came close and pressed his body against mine. I could smell the alcohol in his breathe.

"Come on, now. I know you want me," he whispered.

"In your dreams!" I yelled and slapped him. That was a bad idea because he pinned me against a wall.

"You little b *$, don't you ever do that to me again!" He slowly started to take of my coat and started kissing my neck.

"HELP! GET HIM OFF!" I cried. It wasn't going to end like this. His grip was too strong on me to do anything. He trailed the kisses to my collar bone and down towards my chest.

"STOP! PLEASE! SOMEBODY HELP!" He looked up at me and pressed his lips on mine. They tasted like alcohol. I felt tears slowly going down my cheek. My tears. Then I felt Mike being ripped away from me. I looked up and saw it was Nightwing.

Nightwing lifted him up by the collar and growled. "If you ever touch a lady like that again, you won't live to see another tomorrow. You hear me!" Whoa! Mike just whimpered and nodded. Before he let him go, he punched him in the jaw.

Once Mike was gone, Nightwing turned to look at me. I could feel goose bumps going down my spine. I didn't know he could be that scary. His expressions soon softened.

"Athena, are you okay?" He asked. How did he know my name?

"I… I …" I started. I could find the words. He walked up to me and cupped my face.

"It's okay, I'm here," he murmured. Wait, who else do I know would do this to me. Somebody just as over protective …

"Dick?" I asked.

"I … um …"

"I know it's you Dick. Why would Nightwing know my name?"

I heard him sigh and he pulled his hands away. I looked up at him.

"Yeah, it's me," he said. Then he pulled off his mask! "But you can't tell anybody!"

I smiled. "I know …" should I tell him? "… I know because …" I went into my back pocket and pulled out my mask and put it over my face.

"I'm …"

"Shadow," he finished. I looked at him to see his reaction. I saw a small smile tugging at his lips.

"It's good to know that my hero friend is my real friend," I said while looking down. I then felt his arms wrap around me.

"It _is_ good to know."

**Okay, so review. Now they know about each other, but there's more to come.**


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